Through Their Eyes
by mallowmelting
Summary: Have you ever wondered how Asha really died, or what Morrowseer told Starflight after rescuing him from the Sky Kingdom? Through Their Eyes is a series of one-shots about events that were not really explained in the books.
1. Asha's Struggle

**Asha's Struggle**

 _Taken place before the events of_ The Dragonet Prophecy

Asha skimmed the marsh, her fragile cargo held close to her chest. She had been lucky that Cattail had consented to give up the egg. It had taken quite a lot of coercing . . . and six fat cows.

At the place where the Diamond Spray Delta merged with the sea, Asha swooped high into the air. She took a deep breath of the smell of the swamp for what would be the last time for eight years. She could hardly bear to think of being confined to a dark stone cave for so long, but it had to be done. It was her duty to the Talons, and to save Pyrrhia.

She gazed down at the blood-red egg in her talons, and wished things had turned out differently for the little unborn dragonet inside. To spend the first eight years of your life not knowing the satisfying squelch of mud between your talons, or flying alongside your sibs — Asha couldn't imagine a worse fate. But it had to be done. This dragonet was the future of Pyrrhia.

Well, she mustn't keep the Talons of Peace waiting any longer. Asha put on a burst of speed and began to flap toward the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. She didn't look back at the delta, quickly disappearing behind her. She didn't even think of her sibs, especially her bigwings, and how they would feel when they awoke to find her gone. She couldn't, or else she would be tempted to go back.

She stopped to rest on a craggy peak, her claws scraping across jagged stone. It was terribly cold, and it hurt to walk on rock. What in Pyrrhia had she signed up for? She was still young, with her whole life ahead of her, and she had chosen to give up eight years of her life to raise these dragonets in a miserable, mud-less cave.

Asha growled in frustration, and raised her talon to crush the cursed egg with one blow. She was about to when — she stopped. She could have sworn she saw the dragonet inside move. Asha lowered her talon. What had she almost done? She had almost ended a life before it started. She had almost snatched away whatever joys this dragonet might find in life. Not to mention Nautilus's wrath when he would have found out that she killed one of the prophesied dragonets of destiny.

At the thought of Nautilus, Asha remembered her task. She got up, stretched her wings, took the egg in her talons, and flew off through the mountains.

Feeling the wind in her wings and the joy of flying, Asha was caught off guard when she was attacked. She didn't know what had hit her until she was spiraling toward the ground with a vicious SeaWing whacking her with his tail.

Asha shrieked as the egg slipped out of her talons. Righting herself, she dived faster than she ever had before, so fast that her ears popped and her head spun.

When the egg landed neatly in her claws, she was sure she had witnessed a miracle.

She whipped around to the hiss of the SeaWing who attacked her — as well as his whole platoon, all looking at her with murder on their faces.

If she fled, she would lead the SeaWings to the Talons of Peace headquarters. If she fought them, she might drop the egg again or even die, but there was a chance she wouldn't.

Asha decided to fight.

Roaring, she leaped for the nearest dragon, landing blows on his flank and snout with well-practiced swipes. Tossing the egg into her back talons, Asha swung her claws at the SeaWing's throat and threw the dying dragon to the ground.

In a second the rest of the platoon was on her. Forgetting her neat, practiced battle moves, Asha lunged out with teeth and claws at whatever flesh she could reach. She felt a rush of satisfaction as one, two more dragons fell dead from the sky.

A SeaWing opened his jaws to bite down on her neck, but Asha was too fast. She cannoned straight up, transferred the egg to her front talons again, and took to the skies.

She passed a MudWing patrol hovering in the air, covered in scratches from a recent battle. Asha was pretty sure the remaining four SeaWings hadn't followed her, but she needed them all dead. Blister would definitely be interested in a blood-red MudWing egg headed toward the mountains.

"SeaWing patrol! Four left! Invading!" Asha wheezed as she pointed in their general direction. The patrol nodded, swung into formation, and flew toward the attacking SeaWings.

Headquarters wasn't far away now. Asha flew high above the clouds, searching for Nautilus on one of the mountains below her. At the sight of the green dragon on a rocky peak, she smiled, relieved, and dove down.

"Here's the egg, Nautilus," she said as she landed next to him. "Red as blood, just like the prophecy says. I hope it's not too banged up — I got caught in a battle with Blister's forces trying to invade."

"Good, good," said Nautilus, "but you really need to get those wounds seen to, Asha." With a shaky claw, he pointed to her neck and underbelly.

Asha pressed a talon against the side of her neck and was surprised when it came off bloody. She peered at her underbelly and almost fainted at what she saw — a deep gouge, almost the entire length of her underbelly and bleeding freely. She caught a glimpse of something slippery and organ-like inside. Asha leaned over the side of the mountain and vomited.

Then the pain started coming. Asha hadn't noticed it before, with everything going on around her, but now she felt its full force. It wasn't an I'll-be-okay sort of pain. It was an I'm-dying sort of pain.

"Nautilus," she gasped, trying to get her last words out before the were lost forever, "tell the others . . . Hvitur and Dune and . . . oh . . . the egg . . . it needs . . . take care of it . . . don't keep the dragonets in . . . let them outside . . . otherwise . . . not good . . ." Asha wanted to say that the dragonets needed to be taught to appreciate the world, and not be just kept in the cave learning history of the war. But Nautilus just shook his head, not understanding.

"Oh!" Another spasm of pain rocked Asha's body. "Please . . . Nautilus . . ." She watched the SeaWing's face blur, more and more. She knew she was dying.

When she finally closed her eyes, the light she saw was blinding.


	2. Kestrel's Choice

**Kestrel's Choice**

 _Taken place before and after the events of_ The Dragonet Prophecy

 _In the Sky Kingdom_

Kestrel never wanted any of this.

She wanted to be a mother so badly, to have a dragonet to love and care for and raise to be a loyal SkyWing soldier. She wanted a dragonet who would look up to her and mimic her and follow in her footsteps.

Instead, she got _this_.

What was so wrong about her dragonets? Well, for one, they were twins. Twin were looked down upon in the Sky Kingdom, for some reason Kestrel couldn't fathom.

Secondly, one of them was incinerating the leaf she was sitting on, while the other one was trying to puff a plume of flame but couldn't.

Every so often a dragonet like her little girl was born. It was common enough that Kestrel knew Queen Scarlet would order her to drop her off a cliff, as was the custom. But she looked at the tiny golden dragonet, so perilous yet so vulnerable, and wondered how a mother could be so heartless to kill her own dragonet.

"Perilous," Kestrel murmured to herself. She reached out a talon to stroke the dragonet, but recoiled when she felt the intense heat radiating from her scales. The dragonet stared up at Kestrel with striking blue eyes, no doubt wondering why her mother was afraid to touch her.

"Little Peril." Kestrel gazed at her daughter with love. Then she shook her head. She was going to have to kill her, or else Queen Scarlet would have Kestrel killed — or worse, banished. Imagine living as a fugitive, with no tribe or queen to swear your loyalty to! That was surely worse than death. And to prevent that fate, Kestrel couldn't dare get attached to her dragonet, let alone name her.

She turned her attention to her little boy, the one that Queen Scarlet might let survive. He wasn't dangerous like his sister — no, quite the opposite. For the rest of his life, this dragonet would be a half-dragon, shunned by the SkyWings, for being unable to breathe fire. In battle, he wouldn't be able to fight for his tribe without fire. He would have to be confined to the Sky Kingdom, crippled and helpless as a baby starling.

The door to the hatchery was suddenly flung open. Queen Scarlet stood in the doorway, bedecked in her gold chainmail armor and dripping with precious jewels. She looked down her snout at Kestrel and the twins in disdain.

"I heard you had a defective egg," said the Queen. "Soldier Kestrel, I have no choice but to ban you from the breeding program for life."

Kestrel gasped. "No!" Now she would never get to be a proper mother! "Please, Your Majesty, I promise all my future eggs will be perfectly normal —"

"No exceptions. Those dragonets are defective; I want them dead."

Kestrel could feel everything, her whole world, collapsing inside of her. "You mean — drop them off a cliff?"

"Drop them off a cliff, drown them in the river, I don't care! And if they're not dead by nightfall, you're banished!" Queen Scarlet made a move toward the door.

"No!" Kestrel lashed out and grabbed Scarlet's leg in her claw. She was desperate. "Please, can't just one of them live? Think, Peril could singlehandedly win this war! She's valuable to you. And — and if she's too dangerous, let me save Starling. He's so weak, I can't just kill him. I promise, if you let Starling live, I'll raise him on my own, and you'll never have to lay eyes on him! Please," she pleaded, "let me save one."

Oops. Kestrel had already involuntarily named her son and daughter.

Queen Scarlet twisted out of Kestrel's grip. "Kill those dragonets by nightfall, or face the consequences. I've issued my order," she said coldly. "You should be able to return to your normal duties by tomorrow, Soldier Kestrel." She stalked out of the cave.

Normally, that statement would have filled Kestrel with joy. Back to her duties in combat, loyally serving her queen, instead of being cooped up in the hatchery, tending to her eggs! But instead, all Kestrel felt was dread.

It was her duty to follow her queen's orders. Yet she had another duty, one far more important, and that was from a mother to her dragonets. It didn't matter if they were different.

Kestrel knew what she had to do.

"Come, hatchlings," she whispered to Peril and Starling as she packed away what little she owned. "We're going away. We're going someplace where you'll be safe, my little ones."

She stole out of the Sky Kingdom, tethered to the ground, for her dragonets were not yet old enough to fly. She just kept to the shadows of the near-approaching night and hoped the guards were too sleepy to see her.

* * *

 _At the Diamond Spray Delta_

Kestrel sat at the edge of the river, watching her dragonets splash in the current. Starling, with his clever little claws, sent a splash right in Peril's face. Kestrel chuckled as Peril shook her head to get the water off her tiny snout.

Kestrel looked up at Jade Mountain, its peak jutting out so much higher than the rest of the range, and thought of Stonemover. He would offer them shelter, and hide them from Queen Scarlet.

"Peril, Starling," Kestrel called out. Already the little dragonets knew their own names, and trotted obediently back to their mother. Peril blew a plume of flame and shook all the water off her wings. Starling whined and shied away when the droplets touched him, and Kestrel brought him under the shelter of her wing.

"Come on, let's go." Kestrel spread out a wing to herd her little ones toward Jade Mountain.

"And where might you be going?"

Kestrel gasped and whirled around. She was face-to-face with Queen Scarlet. She swept her dragonets behind her wings and prepared for a fight.

"What do you want, Scarlet?" Kestrel growled. It was the first time she had addressed her queen as simply "Scarlet". But she wasn't Kestrel's queen anymore, and Kestrel wasn't her subject. She had left that life behind the moment she had disobeyed Scarlet's orders.

Startlingly, Queen Scarlet lowered her front talons and dug them into the ground — a sign of peace. "Soldier Kestrel, I've given your request a lot of thought, and I've decided to change my order. I'll spare you and one of your dragonets. If one is killed, you and the other dragonet will be let off with full pardon."

Kestrel hesitated. She knew that was what she had asked before, but now she wasn't sure this was what she wanted. To sacrifice her dragonet's life for her own was incredibly selfish, and Kestrel hated herself for ever thinking it.

But she knew Queen Scarlet wouldn't let her escape with both dragonets. Even as the SkyWing queen sat on her haunches, seemingly nonchalant, Kestrel could see that she was poised to attack a fleeing dragon. She'd never make it out with Queen Scarlet watching her like a hawk, much less her dragonets.

"Fine," Kestrel spat. "I accept your offer. Which one do you want to kill?"

Queen Scarlet showed a sly smile. "Choose."

"Ch — choose?" Kestrel gulped. This was worse than she feared. "What — what do you mean?" Kestrel hoped she had misheard, hoped she hadn't understood correctly.

"Choose which of your dragonets you would like to slaughter," Queen Scarlet explained, slowly and clearly, "and I will pardon you and your remaining dragonet."

Kestrel didn't know what to do.

She looked over one shoulder at Peril, her blazing, dangerous daughter. Kestrel loved her, no matter how much of an abomination she was. Yet she would never be able to touch her or care for her. And no matter how many words of wisdom Kestrel passed on to her, what kind of monster would Queen Scarlet turn her into if she ever got her hands on Peril?

Over the other shoulder was Starling. Tiny, a runt, really, but honest and good. He was the kind of dragonet who would follow Kestrel anywhere, because she was his mother and a mother is loyal. But a mother is loyal to both her dragonets, not just the one who loves her more.

Kestrel stole another look at Peril, and those blue eyes so like her own stared pleadingly, and Kestrel remembered —

 _Kestrel's own eyes, staring exactly the same way at her own mother. She was sending her away, to enter Queen Scarlet's training program for her army. Kestrel didn't want to go, for she was only five years old and fragile and afraid of big dragons. But her mother wanted nothing but to have her gone, and finally had to push her out of the house before locking and bolting the door._

Kestrel couldn't do that to her own dragonet. She wouldn't make her mother's mistake. She would find a way to love her blazing daughter, even if she couldn't touch her.

Before she could have a change of heart, Kestrel pounced on Starling and snapped his neck. She looked away quickly, afraid to see what she had done.

She slumped her shoulders and stared at the marshy ground. In a heavy voice, she said, "It's done, Queen Scarlet. Let me and Peril come home now."

"Actually . . ." Queen Scarlet tapped a claw against her chin. "I've changed my mind. You're a criminal, Kestrel. You're banished. You'd best leave now before I change my mind again and decide to kill you. And leave your Peril with me too, if you know what's good for you."

Queen Scarlet had had this planned all along, Kestrel realized. She had never "changed her mind". She just wanted to see Kestrel suffer. Starling had died for nothing.

"You're evil." Kestrel backed away. "And I'll never leave you Peril! I won't have you turn her into a monster!"

Snarling, Queen Scarlet made a grab for Kestrel's tail. If Kestrel ran, she would be too slow. Not to mention having to wait for a weeks-old dragonet to catch up.

Forgetting about her fiery touch, Kestrel grabbed Peril in her claws and took to the air.

Kestrel let out a yelp and Peril tumbled from her claws. She had been burned before, but it had never been as painful as this. Peril's scales radiated pure fire.

Y _ou'd best leave now before I change my mind again and decide to kill you._ Kestrel knew Queen Scarlet wasn't lying. She would have to leave, without Peril. With a jolt, Kestrel realized Peril was the one she should have killed. Then she'd at least have the chance to raise one dragonet. But now that bridge was burned. There was no going back. She flew higher and higher, away from the broken body of her son and the wailing form of her daughter.

At first, she flew in the direction of Jade Mountain, but changed course when she realized what Stonemover would say if he knew she killed her son and abandoned her daughter to grow up in the hands of an evil, sadistic queen. It would disgust him.

Selfish, selfish Kestrel! Spreading out her wings for full speed, the exiled SkyWing rode the wind toward the Talons of Peace.

* * *

 _As the poison spreads through her body_

Kestrel was falling.

Kestrel was falling, and she was in pain.

Kestrel was falling, she was in pain, and she was dying.

The jagged rocks of the sea were getting closer, and Morrowseer's leering face was getting farther away.

Death, she thought, was a small price to pay for what she had done.

As a final act of what she hoped was repentance, she closed her eyes and wished.

She wished Glory knew she could never have killed her, would never have killed her. It would have been too hard, after what she had done. She had thought she could at the time. But in the Sky Kingdom, watching the RainWing relax in the sun, she knew she couldn't.

She wished Starling knew she made a foolish decision, and hoped that he could forgive her for what she had done. For Kestrel would be joining her little boy soon, and she had no idea if she would be greeted with open arms or sharp claws.

She wished Peril knew that even though she regretted saving her, Kestrel was thankful beyond the moon and the stars that her daughter was still alive. And not just that — Kestrel was _proud_ of her. Proud of the beautiful young dragon she'd grown up to be, a dragon who knew what was best for herself even if her own mother didn't.

But most of all, she wished Queen Scarlet was dead.

When she imagined the SkyWing queen, and all the pain she had caused her over the years, all she could think was a burning desire for her death.

Glory had melted Queen Scarlet's face, but Kestrel knew it took more than that to kill someone like Scarlet.

So as she spiraled down toward the sea, throat bleeding freely and poison spreading through her heart, Kestrel's final wish was revenge.


End file.
